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Phatguysrule
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I've never seen this before, but I love this idea. Apparently it's common in some places, and this guy is annoyed at his wife. However, I'm just excited about the concept. I've thought about it for years and wondered why we didn't do this. Less expensive, and far more configurable. Yes, please get rid of plastic containers wherever possible.
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BigGameDamian
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Phatguysrule
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TL;DR
Taylor Sheridan and Joe Rogan are stupid pieces of shit who spread dangerous bullshit.
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Phatguysrule
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A German experiment proved that simple concrete spheres make fantastic batteries. Now, California plans to submerge a 9-meter diameter sphere in the ocean and is already planning versions of 30 meters.
Storing renewable energy sustainably and efficiently is one of the major challenges of our time. A team of German researchers is proposing a revolutionary solution: concrete spheres immersed in the ocean floor. Their potential is such that California is preparing to test a large-scale prototype.
A simple, ingenious concept
The project, called StEnSea (Stored Energy in the Sea), was developed by the Fraunhofer IEE (Institute for Energy Economics and Energy Systems Technology). The idea is relatively simple: hollow concrete spheres are installed at a depth of several hundred metres. Each sphere is fitted with a pump-turbine and a valve system.
Here’s how it works:
To store energy, excess electricity is used to pump water out of the sphere, creating a relative vacuum.
To release energy, we open the valve: the water, pushed by the external pressure, rushes into the sphere and turns the turbine, producing electricity.
Each sphere has an estimated lifespan of between 50 and 60 years, with partial replacement of components every 20 years or so.
From theory to the first sea trials
The concept has already been successfully validated in a pilot test in Lake Constance, Germany, using spheres three metres in diameter. Building on this success, the researchers are now looking to scale up.
In 2026, a sphere nine metres in diameter and weighing 400 tonnes will be submerged off the coast of California at a depth of 500 to 600 metres. It will have a storage capacity of 0.4 megawatt hours (400 kWh), enough energy to power an average household for several weeks. Eventually, the aim is to create even larger spheres, up to 30 metres in diameter, deployed in ‘fields’ on the seabed around the world.
Read More Boil eggshells in a saucepan, it's very clever and saves a lot of money.
An environmentally friendly alternative to hydroelectric dams Compared with traditional hydroelectric power stations – often criticised for their environmental impact – underwater spheres offer a number of advantages:
High expansion potential: The seabed offers vast, little-exploited areas.
High social acceptability: Installed far from inhabited areas, these facilities arouse less opposition.
According to Dr. Bernhard Ernst of the Fraunhofer IEE, energy storage via these spheres could become an essential part of the world’s energy future, particularly to support the massive development of renewable energies. This promising innovation shows that sometimes, solutions to modern challenges can come from concepts as simple as a sphere… made of concrete, at the bottom of the ocean.
Source
Storing renewable energy sustainably and efficiently is one of the major challenges of our time. A team of German researchers is proposing a revolutionary solution: concrete spheres immersed in the ocean floor. Their potential is such that California is preparing to test a large-scale prototype.
A simple, ingenious concept
The project, called StEnSea (Stored Energy in the Sea), was developed by the Fraunhofer IEE (Institute for Energy Economics and Energy Systems Technology). The idea is relatively simple: hollow concrete spheres are installed at a depth of several hundred metres. Each sphere is fitted with a pump-turbine and a valve system.
Here’s how it works:
To store energy, excess electricity is used to pump water out of the sphere, creating a relative vacuum.
To release energy, we open the valve: the water, pushed by the external pressure, rushes into the sphere and turns the turbine, producing electricity.
Each sphere has an estimated lifespan of between 50 and 60 years, with partial replacement of components every 20 years or so.
From theory to the first sea trials
The concept has already been successfully validated in a pilot test in Lake Constance, Germany, using spheres three metres in diameter. Building on this success, the researchers are now looking to scale up.
In 2026, a sphere nine metres in diameter and weighing 400 tonnes will be submerged off the coast of California at a depth of 500 to 600 metres. It will have a storage capacity of 0.4 megawatt hours (400 kWh), enough energy to power an average household for several weeks. Eventually, the aim is to create even larger spheres, up to 30 metres in diameter, deployed in ‘fields’ on the seabed around the world.
Read More Boil eggshells in a saucepan, it's very clever and saves a lot of money.
An environmentally friendly alternative to hydroelectric dams Compared with traditional hydroelectric power stations – often criticised for their environmental impact – underwater spheres offer a number of advantages:
High expansion potential: The seabed offers vast, little-exploited areas.
High social acceptability: Installed far from inhabited areas, these facilities arouse less opposition.
According to Dr. Bernhard Ernst of the Fraunhofer IEE, energy storage via these spheres could become an essential part of the world’s energy future, particularly to support the massive development of renewable energies. This promising innovation shows that sometimes, solutions to modern challenges can come from concepts as simple as a sphere… made of concrete, at the bottom of the ocean.
Source
Everything Beagle
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https://futurism.com/scientists-wealthy-global-warming
nothing we didn’t already know but it’s nice to see it laid out like that.
nothing we didn’t already know but it’s nice to see it laid out like that.
Phatguysrule
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US approves NuScale's bigger nuclear reactor design
- NuScale CEO says new design is more economical
- NuScale aims to build the first U.S. SMR by 2030
- Company axed first project in 2023
- CEO: NuScale in talks with 5 unnamed hyper-scalers
WASHINGTON, May 29 (Reuters) - The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission on Thursday approved NuScale Power's (SMR.N), opens new tab design for 77 megawatt reactors, clearing a hurdle for the company as it seeks to be the first company to build a U.S. small modular reactor.
NuScale sought approval for the 77 MW design to improve economics and performance of its planned small modular reactors (SMRs), after having originally received NRC approval in 2020 for a 50 MW reactor design.
Read More
- NuScale CEO says new design is more economical
- NuScale aims to build the first U.S. SMR by 2030
- Company axed first project in 2023
- CEO: NuScale in talks with 5 unnamed hyper-scalers
WASHINGTON, May 29 (Reuters) - The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission on Thursday approved NuScale Power's (SMR.N), opens new tab design for 77 megawatt reactors, clearing a hurdle for the company as it seeks to be the first company to build a U.S. small modular reactor.
NuScale sought approval for the 77 MW design to improve economics and performance of its planned small modular reactors (SMRs), after having originally received NRC approval in 2020 for a 50 MW reactor design.
Read More
Phatguysrule
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Trailer. I didn't count them, but yeah probably.
Shaboid
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BoBoBREWSKI
BURP!
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Phatguysrule
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Genetically engineered fungi are protein-packed, sustainable, and taste similar to meat
A picture of Fusarium venenatum. Credit: Xiao Liu
In a new study published in Trends in Biotechnology, researchers used a gene-editing technology called CRISPR to increase a fungus's production efficiency and cut its production-related environmental impact by as much as 61%—all without adding any foreign DNA. The genetically tweaked fungus tastes like meat and is easier to digest than its naturally occurring counterpart.
"There is a popular demand for better and more sustainable protein for food," says corresponding author Xiao Liu of Jiangnan University in Wuxi, China. "We successfully made a fungus not only more nutritious but also more environmentally friendly by tweaking its genes."
Animal agriculture is responsible for about 14% of global greenhouse gas emissions. Raising livestock also takes up land and requires a large amount of fresh water, which is already at risk due to climate change and human influence. Microbial proteins, including those found in yeast and fungi, have emerged as a more sustainable alternative to meat.
Among the options explored thus far for mycoprotein, or fungi with protein, the fungus Fusarium venenatum stands out because of its natural texture and flavor, which closely resemble those of meat. It has been approved for food use in many countries, including the United Kingdom, China, and the United States.
However, Fusarium venenatum has thick cell walls that make its nutrients difficult for humans to digest. Also, it's resource intensive; producing even small amounts of mycoprotein requires a large amount of resource input. The spores are raised in giant metal tanks filled with feedstock made with sugar and nutrients like ammonium sulfate.
Liu and his team set out to explore the potential of boosting Fusarium venenatum's digestibility and production efficiency using CRISPR—without introducing foreign DNA into the fungal genes.
To do so, they removed two genes associated with the enzymes chitin synthase and pyruvate decarboxylase. Eliminating the chitin synthase made the fungal cell wall thinner, allowing more protein inside the cell to become available for digestion. Taking out the pyruvate decarboxylase gene helped to fine-tune the fungus's metabolism so that it required less nutrient input to produce protein.
Analyses showed that the new fungal strain, dubbed FCPD, required 44% less sugar to produce the same amount of protein compared to the original strain and did so 88% faster.
"A lot of people thought growing mycoprotein was more sustainable, but no one had really considered how to reduce the environmental impact of the entire production process, especially when compared to other alternative protein products," says first author, Xiaohui Wu of Jiangnan University.
The researchers then calculated the environmental footprint of FCPD, from spores in the laboratory to inactivated meat-like products, at an industrial scale.
They simulated FCPD production in six countries with different energy structures—including Finland, which uses mostly renewable energy, and China, which relies more heavily on coal—and found that FCPD had a lower environmental impact than traditional Fusarium venenatum production did, regardless of location.
Overall, FCPD production resulted in up to 60% less greenhouse gas emissions for the entirety of its life cycle.
The team also investigated the impact of FCPD production compared to the resources required to produce animal protein. When compared to chicken production in China, they found that myoprotein from FCPD requires 70% less land and reduces the risk of freshwater pollution by 78%.
"Gene-edited foods like this can meet growing food demands without the environmental costs of conventional farming," says Liu.
Read More
A picture of Fusarium venenatum. Credit: Xiao Liu
In a new study published in Trends in Biotechnology, researchers used a gene-editing technology called CRISPR to increase a fungus's production efficiency and cut its production-related environmental impact by as much as 61%—all without adding any foreign DNA. The genetically tweaked fungus tastes like meat and is easier to digest than its naturally occurring counterpart.
"There is a popular demand for better and more sustainable protein for food," says corresponding author Xiao Liu of Jiangnan University in Wuxi, China. "We successfully made a fungus not only more nutritious but also more environmentally friendly by tweaking its genes."
Animal agriculture is responsible for about 14% of global greenhouse gas emissions. Raising livestock also takes up land and requires a large amount of fresh water, which is already at risk due to climate change and human influence. Microbial proteins, including those found in yeast and fungi, have emerged as a more sustainable alternative to meat.
Among the options explored thus far for mycoprotein, or fungi with protein, the fungus Fusarium venenatum stands out because of its natural texture and flavor, which closely resemble those of meat. It has been approved for food use in many countries, including the United Kingdom, China, and the United States.
However, Fusarium venenatum has thick cell walls that make its nutrients difficult for humans to digest. Also, it's resource intensive; producing even small amounts of mycoprotein requires a large amount of resource input. The spores are raised in giant metal tanks filled with feedstock made with sugar and nutrients like ammonium sulfate.
Liu and his team set out to explore the potential of boosting Fusarium venenatum's digestibility and production efficiency using CRISPR—without introducing foreign DNA into the fungal genes.
To do so, they removed two genes associated with the enzymes chitin synthase and pyruvate decarboxylase. Eliminating the chitin synthase made the fungal cell wall thinner, allowing more protein inside the cell to become available for digestion. Taking out the pyruvate decarboxylase gene helped to fine-tune the fungus's metabolism so that it required less nutrient input to produce protein.
Analyses showed that the new fungal strain, dubbed FCPD, required 44% less sugar to produce the same amount of protein compared to the original strain and did so 88% faster.
"A lot of people thought growing mycoprotein was more sustainable, but no one had really considered how to reduce the environmental impact of the entire production process, especially when compared to other alternative protein products," says first author, Xiaohui Wu of Jiangnan University.
The researchers then calculated the environmental footprint of FCPD, from spores in the laboratory to inactivated meat-like products, at an industrial scale.
They simulated FCPD production in six countries with different energy structures—including Finland, which uses mostly renewable energy, and China, which relies more heavily on coal—and found that FCPD had a lower environmental impact than traditional Fusarium venenatum production did, regardless of location.
Overall, FCPD production resulted in up to 60% less greenhouse gas emissions for the entirety of its life cycle.
The team also investigated the impact of FCPD production compared to the resources required to produce animal protein. When compared to chicken production in China, they found that myoprotein from FCPD requires 70% less land and reduces the risk of freshwater pollution by 78%.
"Gene-edited foods like this can meet growing food demands without the environmental costs of conventional farming," says Liu.
Read More
